NEWTOWN SCHOOL SHOOTING: The New York Times reports private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management said on Tuesday that it would sell its investment in Bushmaster assault rifle maker Freedom Group in response to the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School by madman Adam Lanza, that left 20 kids and six adults.

Cerberus acquired Bushmaster — the manufacturer of the rifle used by the gunman in the Newtown attacks that killed 27 people, including 20 schoolchildren — in 2006.

The private equity giant later merged it with other gun companies to create Freedom Group, which reported net sales of $677.3 million for the nine months that ended in September 2012, a 20 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” Cerberus said in a news release.